JS Link Announces Investment in Rare Earth Permanent Magnet Facility in Columbus, Georgia

JS Link America, a subsidiary of South Korean company JS Link, announced it is investing about $223M to establish a new rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing facility in Columbus, Georgia, which will create approximately 520 new jobs in Muscogee County. JS Link is currently wrapping up a similar facility in Yesan, Korea, perfecting processing of rare-earth materials and magnet manufacturing. In the announcement, the company mentions hopes of hiring its labor force from Georgia’s universities.

MP Materials announced a definitive, long-term agreement with Apple. A $500 million commitment will enable Apple to domestically source rare earth magnets for its products, supporting manufacturing and circular supply chains in the United States. In the first-of-its-kind deal, Apple and MP Materials will launch an all-new recycling facility for processing recycled rare earth elements, which will be located in Mountain Pass, California.

Most of us assume that neodymium must only come from China. Yet, rare earth ore is available in California, and reshoring neo-magnet production, including recycling neodymium, is now accelerating in the US. Mike Klasco (Menlo Scientific), tipped off by Salvador Magdaleno (Salvador Consultant), writes about the first manufacturing operation that is ready to deliver neodymium permanent magnets in the United States. This article was written originally for The Audio Voice newsletter.

In this article, Mike Klasco provides a unique overview of the neodymium supply chain, rare earth minerals trade, and its implications for the loudspeaker industry. Neodymium magnets are a sensitive issue for the future, given the trend for escalating trade skirmishes with China. This article was originally published in The Audio Voice newsletter of August 23 and 30, 2018. An extended version, also divided in two parts, was later published in Voice Coil magazine in November and December 2018.